Smartest Dog Breeds In The World, Ranked

Is your pup among the smartest dogs in the world? Certain dog breeds are prized for their intelligence. The smartest dog breeds in the world were bred to be brainy so they could help people accomplish specific tasks. But canine intelligence, like human intelligence, can be hard to define. There are many different kinds of intelligence, like the ability to adapt, having good instincts, being able to read emotions, and mastering control of one’s body.

Studies are being conducted to examine these different types of intelligence in dogs, but one type that has been studied thoroughly is working intelligence–the ability to learn and follow commands. Psychologist Stanley Coren surveyed 199 dog obedience judges to find out which dog breeds are the smartest when it comes to working intelligence for his book The Intelligence of Dogs. Though there are exceptions within breeds and a lot comes down to training, results were fairly consistent. Here’s a gallery of the top 50 dog breeds ranked in order of intelligence:

Dogs in the top ten can learn commands in five seconds and obey 95% of the time. Dogs ranked 11 to 32 can learn commands in five to fifteen repetitions and obey 85% of the time. Dogs in the 33rd to 63rd rank are average and can learn commands in 15 to 25 repetitions, obeying 70% of the time. Dogs ranked below that can take 25 to 100 or more repetitions to learn commands and obey 50 to 30% of the time.